Artesian McCullough
Artesian McCullough is one of the newer COs at Litchfield hired by MCC in Season Four, chosen for being a military veteran. She is portrayed by Emily Tarver. Personality McCullough is shown to be laconic and serious. She does not tolerate the boorish and often sexist antics of her male co-workers. It is implied that she is slightly racist towards black people. After the riot, McCullough develops a self-hating, sadist attitude and begins stubbing cigarettes out on her thighs. Physical Appearance McCullough is a blonde white woman. According to CO Stratman, "She could totally be cute if she got, like, 'Princess-Diary'ed". Biography Before Litchfield Before she came to work at Litchfield, McCullough served in the armed forces in Afghanistan. Season Four McCullough is one of the new guards hired by MCC in order for the corporation to receive financial incentives for hiring military veterans. She escorts Maritza on van duty, foiling Maritza's original plan to charm one of the male guards into going into the house while Maria's cousin picked up the panties hidden by Flaca in the bottom of the vehicle. The two eventually form a bond, and Maritza agrees to give McCullough makeup tutorials. While she can be uncaring towards many of MCC's policies and her fellow guards' activities, she shows concern when she overhears Maritza throwing up in the bathroom (after CO Humphrey's torture). Recalling that Humphrey improperly had Maritza in the guards' house alone, she wonders if he may have had something to do with her state, and she and Stratman discuss Humphrey's possibly sociopathic nature. They consider that Humphrey may have raped her, and worry over the implications for the rest of the guards. She debates reporting the incident but Stratman sways her decision. He explains that they are part of a "brotherhood", meaning they have to look out for one another. McCullough reluctantly agrees and chooses to remain passive on the situation. When the guards begin shutting down the peaceful protest in the cafeteria, McCullough attempts to assist Baxter Bayley in apprehending Suzanne Warren, but she is unsuccessful and calls out to Piscatella for help. When Caputo asks the guards if Poussey was violent following her accidental death at Bayley's hands, McCullough and Luschek are the only ones who do not respond in the affirmative, clearly disturbed. At the end of Season Four, McCullough is shown being held at gunpoint along with Humphrey by inmate Daya. The scene ends on a cliffhanger. Season Five McCullough eventually becomes one of the guard hostages after the prison takeover. When the guards were forced to strip in front of the entire prison population, Flaca and Maritza took the job of stripping McCullough, who protested that she and Maritza had bonded. Later on, she was the first person to realize Daya no longer had the gun after overhearing her talking to Mendoza during the group photo. For the talent show, she did a "helping hands" act with one of the other hostages, who took the opportunity to grope her, much to her annoyance. McCullough was later escorted along with the other guards to the outhouses as part of Mendoza's plan to release them in exchange for having her sentence commuted, and was seen visibly crying at her situation. Later, Ruiz stole Mendoza's thunder and freed the hostages. When Ruiz was mistakenly told she could go home, McCullough was quick to correct the situation and point out Ruiz was actually an inmate, apparently still angry at Ruiz for forcing her and the other COs to strip. Relationships Friends *B. Stratman (colleague) - Despite seeming to dislike most of the male COs, McCullough sympathises with Stratman during the hostage ordeal. *Ryder Blake (colleague) - Blake and McCullough are shown to be friendly. *Lee Dixon (colleague) - Dixon and McCullough are handcuffed together during the hostage ordeal, McCullough is ashamed of him performing a "circle jerk". *Baxter Bayley (colleague) - Baxter and McCullough seemed to get on well together. *Joel Luschek (colleague) - Luschek and McCullough seemed to be friendly in the bubble. *Maritza Ramos (helped out) - McCullough seems to be friendly with Maritza when she becomes van driver and offers to give her a tampon when there is a shortage. *Suzanne Warren (defended) - When Pidge and Ouija take Suzanne away, McCullough tries to defend Suzanne. Enemies *Dayanara Diaz (held hostage) - At the very outset of the riot, McCullough is held at gun point by Dayanara with CO Humphrey. *Maria Ruiz (enemy) - During the riot, McCullough is forced by Maria to strip in front of the prison population. Trivia * McCullough's shirt reads "B. McCullough", however, in "Riot FOMO", she reveals her name to be Artesian, though this may be a nickname. * McCullough has started smoking and self harming using lit cigarettes following the riot Category:Litchfield Staff Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Season 5 Characters Category:Under Construction